


Gotham Unhinged

by OhStarsandGarters



Series: Gotham Unhinged [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Frame Job, Gen, Genderbending, Ice, Joker - Freeform, M/M, Mystery, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-04 06:39:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5324243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhStarsandGarters/pseuds/OhStarsandGarters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Story Two of the Gotham Unhinged series (The Laughing Red Hood being the first).  A new player is on the field, ruining all the best laid plans of mice and men. Riddle me this!  Who could it be?<br/>This story contains characters who are well-established and beloved. This is simply another interpretation. It's all good fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gotham Unhinged

Harley fought to force the heavy man off her.

Her breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding in her ears. As high-pitched squeaks escaped her throat, the other men in the room laughed.

They did this because they thought her weak, Harley realized. They thought that they could do what they wanted because Mr. J was gone.

Mr. J would have had all of them howling in pain in moments if he walked in on this scene. She could feel his hands running up and down her body.

The real disgust boiled in Harley’s body when his lips met her collarbone. It was then that the adrenaline began pumping through her body. Kicking and screaming, Harley forced the big man off of her.

The door open with a force.

Harley looked up, hoping beyond hope that her Puddin’ had come to save her.

There was the tap of a cane. A swish of lime-green fabric. A purple-painted smirk. A green leather mask.

The character stopped, looking passively at the scene. Swishing a long lock of copper-blonde hair over her shoulder, the character let her eyes settle on one of the men who was seated in a comfortable-looking chair.

The air became heavy as this new character and the henchman locked eyes.

The man jumped to his feet, offering this strange woman the very chair he had been sitting in. As she seated herself, the faint light glinted across something on her mask.

Harley blinked to see it better and recognized a purple question mark outlining the eyebrow and cheekbone area on the left side of her mask. Question Mark Woman? Harley scoffed to herself. Everyone seems to be a villain now.

The woman crossed her legs, her back straight and her right hand on the handle of her cane which was standing upright.

Cocking her head to the side, the Question Mark Woman sighed.

The room waited with bated breath.

“Riddle me this,” she leaned forward, the holes in her mask so dark and hollow that they could have gone on forever. Her voice was almost too deep for a woman’s, but far too sweet and feminine for a man’s voice. She was looking directly at the man who was holding Harley, “Perhaps,” her voice had a strange accent to it that was too enunciated to be American English, but not elegant enough for British English, “You should let the lady go before there is permanent harm done and her partner returns to exterminate all of you.”

The man holding Harley tightened his grip on the petite blonde. He growled, “What will you do to me? We could do the same to you.”

“True,” The Question Mark Woman’s smile faded, her voice taking a dangerous tone. “However, I found the Devil’s Lair – the Joker’s Lair. Not even Batman with all his gadgets… not even Mr. Cobblepot or even Two-Face… not even the police with all their force have been able to find the Joker’s Lair.”

Every word she spoke was punctuated by a movement she made with her right hand (which was, incidentally, still holding the cane). “Someone like me is a bit of an… enigma….” She stopped, clearing her throat and examining her purple gloves, “I may have also placed a bomb set to explode in six minutes.”

For two horrible seconds, Harley struggled for breath.

Each and every one of the men in the room considered calling her bluff. Then the spell holding the men in place broke and they scattered.

This was a different crazy than the Joker’s crazy.

They wanted no part of it.

Harley collapsed onto floor, almost fainting.

The Question Mark Woman watched her, the holes in the mask boring into Harley. Offering no encouragement or words of concern, the woman simply sighed again.

Harley gasped: “What are you?”

“Hey diddle diddle, here is the riddle…” the woman stood, grasping the curved handle of her cane with her gloved hands, her legs slightly spread apart. “What am I? Answer: an enigma.”

Harley shook her head, struggling to stand, “Who are you?”

“That answer, my dear girl, is: I am the Riddler.  Now, tell me where I can find the Joker.”


End file.
